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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. rule — government
  3. swing — to play on
  4. mark — a grade
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. degree — an amount
  9. cell — a phone
  10. degree — from a university
  11. swing — in golf
  12. chest — of your body
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. rule — a law
  15. chest — of your body
  16. swing — music
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. rash — hasty
  19. wind — moving air
  20. degree — temperature
  21. chest — a box
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. mark — a trace
  24. cell — in biology

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com